AltWeeklies Wire
Mad to be back: The return of 'Mad Men'new

This Sunday at 8pm, '60s ad man Don Draper and the sharp-dressed, sharp-tongued crew at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce return to AMC after an unbearable 18-month absence.
San Antonio Current |
Chuck Kerr |
03-28-2012 |
TV
Oops, My Bad! The Sorry State of Saying 'I'm Sorry'new
The "perfect" apology, if there is such a thing, can be whittled into three pieces, each of which is well illustrated in a letter that Emily Post dreamt up for 1922's Etiquette.
C-Ville Weekly |
Andrew Cedermark |
11-25-2009 |
Commentary
Fang Mania: Why Are Vampires Everywhere?new
It may be Halloween, but bloodsuckers are no longer relegated to the end of October. Like a dark cloud of mosquitoes, vampires have descended on America. They're everywhere, from the puppet teaching our children to count to the romantic hero stealing the hearts of teenagers nationwide.
Boulder Weekly |
David Accomazzo |
11-02-2009 |
Culture
At the International G.I. Joe Convention, Grown Men Play With Little Dollsnew

Most of the attendees are male, large, and loyal to either the 12-inch original toys or the 3-3/4-inch figurines based on the cartoon characters. A slight edge goes to the cartoon fans, who tend to be younger and single, with more disposable income.
In 'The Big Rewind,' Nathan Rabin Uses His Pop-Saturated Memory as a Window into His Lifenew
Did I mention that most of this book is extremely funny? Rabin is aware that there are plenty of hard-luck stories out there, and he's just as hard on himself as he is on such targets as a video store boss, several girlfriends from hell and a Movie Club co-commentator married to the guy who wrote Soul Plane.
INDY Week |
Zack Smith |
08-28-2009 |
Nonfiction
I Have to Wonder: Who Exactly is 'Porn & Pong' Written For?new
Nothing Brown presents in Porn & Pong is going to be a huge revelation if you're already mired in gamer culture, and I just can't see the average person choosing the book over Stephenie Meyer's sparkly vampires.
The Portland Mercury |
Earnest "Nex" Cavalli |
08-28-2009 |
Nonfiction
Cartoon: In the Year 2525new

In the year 2525, as the old song goes, we'll still be putting up with Boomer nostalgia about Woodstock.
Looking Back Through the Glass at the 'TRL' Pop-Culture Revolutionnew

Coming in the midst of a tsunami of Woodstock nostalgia, the news that Viacom is not renewing its lease on the Times Square studio where MTV staged Total Request Live didn't attract much attention.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Greg Beato |
08-20-2009 |
TV
Vanilla Mike? Rebranding Tyson for the Age of Obamanew

Can Mike "clean up" enough to attach his name to video-game sales, as his new advisers Harlan Werner and Damon Bingham want him to? As Bob Dylan has done with Victoria's Secret? And George Foreman with hamburger grills?
Las Vegas Weekly |
John Lombardi |
05-14-2009 |
Movies
Is the King of Pop's Neverland Booty Our Folly Too?new

Life is hard, and economists searching for a symbol to the End of an Era need look no farther than Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's 2,800-acre Valhalla outside Santa Barbara.
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
02-20-2009 |
Music
Expressing Oneself Through Music Torture Programmingnew

Music as torture makes intuitive sense to us. In milder incarnations, we've been subjected to it, and practicing it, for years. In the context of genuine warfare, however, what role should music and other forms of pop culture play?
Las Vegas Weekly |
Greg Beato |
12-19-2008 |
Music
'Barf Manifesto' is So Great You'll Wanna Pukenew
Not a rant so much as a pair of roiling bursts of text, Bellamy's book has feminist intent, but ultimately it presents an artistic credo, in the manner of Andre Breton's paeans to Surrealism.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Johnny Ray Huston |
12-04-2008 |
Nonfiction
What Is Our Fascination with Vampire Love?new

Why, at this particular point in human history, do we require two different movies and a television show (all based on books) about humans who fall in love with vampires. What is it that makes drinking blood (and/or abstaining from garlic) so damn sexy right now?
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
12-03-2008 |
Movies
Secret 'Stache: The Passion and Pop of John Oatesnew

John Oates' mustache has become a pop-culture phenomenon almost wholly removed from the musician himself. And far from simply indulging an irony-obsessed generation, Oates has jumped on the bandwagon.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Shaun Brady |
11-25-2008 |
Music
How the Movie 'Soul Man' Paved the Way for President Obamanew
It's not far-fetched for a movie lover to think that Obama's rise was prepared -- if not predicted -- by the a 1986 race comedy about a guy who fakes his way into Harvard.
New York Press |
Armond White |
11-13-2008 |
Commentary